London (dpa) – A heated argument over a “Make America Great Again” hat worn by supporters of US presidential candidate Donald Trump cost two women their flights to the USA. The British Airways plane finally took off towards the city of Austin, Texas, around two hours late, the company announced.
The trigger was the red baseball cap: a traveler wore the hat as she waited to board at London’s Heathrow Airport. Another passenger became so upset that the two women fought in the gate area, as the Sun newspaper reported. The argument continued on the plane, where both travelers were sitting in the same area. Finally, the crew decided to call the police – the officers escorted the political opponents off board.
There were no arrests, but the women accused each other of being involved in a fight, police said.
“Tensions are skyrocketing”
“As the US presidential election approaches, tensions are skyrocketing,” the Sun quoted a source at Heathrow as saying. “The crew couldn’t risk a real fight breaking out at 30,000 feet (more than 9,000 meters).” Next Tuesday there will be elections in the USA: Donald Trump is running for the Republicans, the incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democrats.
“British Airways employees cannot recall a flight being delayed because of a passenger’s baseball cap,” Heathrow said. “That was extraordinary.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:241030-930-274459/1
